Survivor Spotlight: Georgia Ellis

During the last days before the 1995 Race for the Cure a beautiful and graceful woman walked into the shabby little race office in the Wichita Mall and said,

“I am a breast cancer survivor and I am here to help.” 

She was the first person to ever volunteer that a committee member hadn’t begged to help.
 

From that moment, Georgia Ellis has used her understanding of survivors and her community to be a blessing to Komen’s mission and the women we serve.  In the early years, Komen Kansas hadn’t started the survivor recognition program and as of yet, weren't doing much with our local survivors.  Georgia was willing to share about being a survivor to give a better understanding of survivorship, something very much needed.  But Georgia’s willingness to share did not stop there.

Terry Burnett and Peggy Johnson knew they weren’t reaching the African Americans in our community, and had written a grant to start a program in Wichita.  But they also knew they couldn’t be the ones to develop the program. When asked to take the lead, Georgia willingly said yes. And it doesn’t seem she has stopped saying yes since.  Georgia has served as chair of Witnessing in the Heartland, held several positions on the Board of Directors including President for two years, being the first African American President of a Komen affiliate.  She served on an Advisory Committee for the CDC’s National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection program, as well as many Komen National committees.  Even when she moved temporarily to Dallas to help care for her mother, she became a volunteer in Texas.

If you visit the Affiliate office in Wichita, you are greeted by Georgia’s quiet kind manner and beautiful smile .  As Office Manager, she continues to serve and provide help in many ways.  And be sure to check out her shoes, she has one of the best shoe collections of any woman in Kansas!